The cherry blossoms were duly out in the cool gray evening. Cherry blossoms don’t ordinarily grab me but I will admit they looked nice. Giant pandas don’t really grab me either, even though everyone is constantly raving about how adorable they are. There were no cafés to stop at as I proceeded on my way to the opera hall. That’s the nature of this town—all business. Methodical, plodding, no cafés for boulevardiers and bohemians. There are no bohemians or boulevardiers in Washington. So I just sat and read for an hour in the hall, being early.